Even at the dawn of human civilization, environmental phenomena aroused interest in man. In those days, they aroused fear, and were explained by various superstitions. But thanks to the works of scientists from different eras, today a person has knowledge of what their meaning is. What examples of astronomical and physical phenomena observed in the surrounding world can be given?
Two categories of phenomena
Astronomical phenomena include events of a planetary scale - this is a solar eclipse, stellar wind, parallax, the rotation of the Earth around its axis. Physical phenomena are the evaporation of water, the refraction of light, lightning and other phenomena. For a long time they have been studied by various researchers. Therefore, today a detailed description of physical and astronomical phenomena is available to everyone.
Earth rotation
For several centuries, scientists have studied this phenomenon, and found that it has many interesting characteristics. The Earth makes one revolution around the Sun in 365.24 days, and this explains the need for another additional day every four years (when the leap year comes). The rotation speed of our planet is 108 thousand km / h. The distance from the Earth to the Sun is always different. Usually our planet is closest to the Sun on January 3, and farthest on July 4.
This astronomical phenomenon was investigated back in ancient Greece. The period when the Earth is closest to the Sun is called perihelion, and the period of Earth’s greatest distance is called aphelion. However, the change of seasons is determined not by proximity to the star, but by the inclination of the earth's axis. Earth moves in an elliptical orbit. This picture was first described by Johannes Kepler.
Solar wind phenomenon
Few people think that magnetic storms and northern lights are directly related to such an astronomical phenomenon as stellar wind. The planets of the solar system are also affected. The stellar wind is a stream of helium-hydrogen plasma. It begins in the crown of a star (in our case, the Sun), and moves at gigantic speed, overcoming millions of kilometers of space.
The stellar wind stream consists of protons, alpha particles, as well as electrons. Every second, millions of tons of matter are carried away from the surface of our star, spreading throughout the solar system. Scientists have noticed that there are places with different solar wind densities. These areas in our system move together with the Sun, being derivatives of its atmosphere. In speed, astronomers distinguish between slow and fast solar winds, as well as its high-speed currents.
Solar eclipse
This astronomical phenomenon in the past inspired people with awe and fear of the mysterious forces of nature. It was believed that during a solar eclipse someone was trying to extinguish the Sun, and therefore the luminary needed protection. People armed themselves with spears and shields, and went "to war." As a rule, the solar eclipse soon ceased, and people returned to the caves, pleased that they were able to drive away evil spirits. Now the meaning of this astronomical phenomenon is well understood by astronomers. It consists in the fact that the Moon overshadows our luminary for a certain period of time. When the Moon, the Earth and the Sun line up side by side in one line, we can observe the phenomenon of a solar eclipse.
Astronomical events
Solar eclipse is one of the most interesting phenomena. This astronomical phenomenon in 2016 was observed on March 9. Best of all, this solar eclipse was noticeable to the inhabitants of the Caroline Islands. It lasted for 6 hours. And in 2017, a slightly different large-scale event is expected - on October 12, 2017, the asteroid TS4 will fly near the Earth. And on October 12, 2017, the peak of Perseid star rain is expected.
Lightning
Lightning belongs to the category of physical phenomena. This is one of the most mysterious phenomena. Almost always, it can be seen during a summer thunderstorm. Lightning is a gigantic spark. It has a truly gigantic length - several hundred kilometers. At first we can see the lightning, and only after that - “hear” her voice, thunder. Sound travels through the air more slowly than light, so we hear thunder with a delay.
Lightning is born at high altitude, in a thundercloud. Typically, such clouds appear during the heat, when the air is heated. In the place where lightning originates, an innumerable amount of charged particles flies. Finally, when there are a lot of them, a giant spark flares up and lightning appears. Sometimes it can strike the Earth, and sometimes it bursts directly in a thundercloud. It depends on the type of lightning, which number more than 10.
Evaporation
Examples of physical and astronomical phenomena can be observed in everyday life - they are so familiar to a person that sometimes they are simply not noticed. One of these phenomena is the evaporation of water. Everyone knows that if you hang the laundry on a rope, then after a while the moisture will evaporate from it and it will become dry. Evaporation is a process in which a liquid gradually turns into a gaseous state. Molecules of a substance are subject to two forces. The first of these is the cohesive force that holds the particles together. The second is the thermal motion of molecules. This force makes them move in different directions. If these forces are balanced, the substance is a liquid. On the surface of the liquid, particles move faster than below, and therefore overcome faster adhesion forces. Molecules fly off the surface into the air - evaporation occurs.
Refraction of light
To give examples of astronomical phenomena, one often needs to turn to scientific sources of information, or make observations using a telescope. Physical phenomena can be observed without leaving home. One of these phenomena is the refraction of light. Its meaning is that a ray of light changes its direction to the boundary of two media. Part of the energy is always reflected from the surface of the second medium. In the event that the medium is transparent, the beam partially propagates through the boundary of the two media. This phenomenon is called refraction of light.
When observing this phenomenon, the illusion of a change in the shape of objects, their location. You can verify this if you install a pencil in a glass of water at an angle. If you look at it from the side, it seems that the part of the pencil under the water, as it were, is pushed to the side. This law was discovered back in ancient Greece. Then it was established experimentally in the XVII century and explained using the Huygens law.